Winning your home games is a prerequisite for making a run at a championship in any league, particularly the SEC.

The road is never kind in this league.

It's no coincidence that during the SEC's streak of six straight national championships that those teams have combined for a 40-3 home record. Alabama was 6-1 at home last season. Auburn was 8-0 in 2010, Alabama 7-0 in 2009, Florida 6-1 in 2008, LSU 6-1 in 2007 and Florida 7-0 in 2006.

Alabama, which has won two of the past three national championships, has won 26 of its past 28 games at home. Under Gene Chizik, Auburn is 20-3 at home, while LSU has lost only once at home over the past three seasons. That's a span of 20 games.

Florida has historically been one of the best home teams in the SEC, certainly going back to when Steve Spurrier returned to his alma mater in 1990 as head coach. But over the past two seasons, the Gators are just 9-5 at home. That's after going 37-3 at home from 2004-09. And during Spurrier's 12 seasons at Florida from 1990-2001, the Gators were a remarkable 68-5 in the Swamp. They only lost three times to SEC foes at home under the Head Ball Coach.

So, yes, the Gators have lost as many games in the Swamp the past two years as they did during Spurrier's entire 12-year head coaching career at Florida.

Alabama and LSU are tied with the best home record in the SEC over the past five years. They're both 30-5.

Over the past three years, they're a combined 38-3 at home. LSU is 19-1 during that stretch with the only loss coming to Ole Miss in 2009. Alabama is 19-2 over the past three seasons. The Crimson Tide's only home losses were to LSU last season and Auburn in 2010.

Arkansas' surge into the SEC's upper echelon can be attributed in part to how well the Hogs have played at home. They're 19-2 over the past three seasons, which includes games in Fayetteville and Little Rock. The only two losses were to Alabama in 2010 and Georgia in 2009.

Vanderbilt won a total of five home games from 2008-10, but matched that with a 5-2 home record last season in James Franklin's first year on the job.